Goodwill
by Deandra
Summary: Eomer and his wife seek shelter from a storm. ONESHOT. Part 52 of the Elfwine Chronicles.


_**Part 52 of the Elfwine Chronicles. The Elfwine Chronicles are a series of one-shots built around the family group of Eomer, Lothiriel and Elfwine. The total number will depend on how many ideas I get for new vignettes.**_

_A/N: A bit of "Good King Wenceslas" and a little touch of the Christmas story thrown in there, I guess. Got this idea while at church this morning and thought I'd try to get it up as one final 'Christmas' gift to my ffn readers. Not to worry - Part 51 will post tomorrow, if ffn cooperates._

**Goodwill**

**(Dec, 3020 III)**

When the journey had begun, despite it being December, the weather was chill but sunny, and there had been no indication of snow to come. However, the return trip from Aldburg had abruptly turned disagreeable. Little more than an hour out from Aldburg, a snowstorm blew in over the mountains. At first, the softly falling flakes were not a hindrance, but as the storm picked up, the mood of the party deteriorated.

King Eomer glanced again at his four-months pregnant wife, riding silently beside him. She had made no complaint, knowing there was nothing he could do, but he knew her well enough to recognize she was tired, cold and uncomfortable. Despite being fours months along, Lothiriel was not yet showing her condition much yet, so it was not hampering her from riding and they had thought the ride would be easy enough for her to accompany him. Knowing she would be cooped up all too soon with bad weather and a swollen stomach, she had relished the idea, but now it was clearly not so appealing.

A small village could be seen ahead of them, still some distance away, and Eomer nudged his horse up alongside Eothain's. Quietly, he told him, "Let us stop at a farmhouse and seek rest and shelter for the night. I do not want to keep Lothiriel out in this weather any longer."

Eothain nodded his understanding as Eomer returned to his wife's side. Half an hour later, they rode into the yard of a small cottage. A barn and paddock stood behind it, and Eomer dismounted to knock at the door. At first there was no sound from within, and he began to think no one was there, but then he heard running feet and a small girl opened the door slightly to peer out at him.

He gave her a friendly smile and asked, "Are your Papa and Mama here? I would speak with them."

She stared at him unblinkingly a few moments and then said, "They are sick and in bed." She started to close the door, but Eomer caught it with his hand.

When he pushed it open, the little girl retreated across the room, obviously frightened of him. He crouched down and told her gently, "Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you."

Lothiriel entered behind him and her maidservant, Miren, helped her to a chair near the fire. Glancing over at her husband, she asked, "Who is this?"

"I do not know," he replied. "We have not gotten that far yet in our conversation." Turning back to the little girl, he asked, "What is your name? I am Eomer."

The child just stared at him with wide eyes and made no answer. Lothiriel's eyes narrowed and she rose to join her husband, "She is not here alone, is she?"

"I do not think so. She said her mother and father were sick in bed," Eomer answered, rising to stand next to his wife.

Glancing about and seeing only one other door, Lothiriel made her way to it. As she put her hand on the latch, Eomer asked, "Do you think you should? I would not want you to catch anything."

Smiling over her shoulder, she reassured him, "I will be fine. They may need help." She continued into the other room and Miren moved to follow her. Eomer trailed in behind them.

A man and woman were indeed there, in a fitful sleep on the bed, and a crying child was in a crib nearby. Quickly Miren went to see to the child as Lothiriel moved over to check the parents. Both had fevers and chills, and the coldness of the room was not helping.

Eomer returned to the other room where Eothain awaited. "Have the men set up camp and stable the horses for the night. Tell them to check and see if there are animals or such that need tending, and to take care of it. And have someone bring firewood for the house."

As Eothain left, Eomer looked around the small room in which he stood. There were dirty dishes on the table and remnants of a meal. The little girl had trailed into the other room and stood watching the women with her parents and brother, and Eomer went to kneel down beside her. She started to flinch away, but he gently caught her arm. "Do not be afraid. We are going to help. How long have your Mama and Papa been sick?"

The child was clearly torn, but finally gave into the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She whispered, "They have been sick for several days. Papa managed to get up until yesterday, but now all they both do is sleep."

Her tears spilled over and Eomer pulled her into his arms and held her, "Shhhh. Do not weep. It will be alright now. We are here to help." As her tears eased, he wiped at her damp cheeks, and asked again, "Will you tell me your name?"

She ducked her head shyly, "I am Fetige."

Lothiriel joined them just then. "Well, Fetige, do not despair. You have much help now. Is there food in the house?"

The girl's eyes began to fill with tears again. "Most of it is gone, except for things I do not know how to use."

Lothiriel stroked her head and said softly, "Do not worry. It will be alright." She glanced over at Miren, who had found a clean diaper for the baby and now had him quieted. "Miren, take Fetige with you and see what you can do in the way of food for the children and possibly a broth for the parents. Eomer, see if you can find me some willow bark, and have water brought in."

Each moved to their tasks and Lothiriel looked around the sad little room. This house would give her shelter from the wintry weather outside but, more importantly, she could hopefully do some good here.

xxxxx

An hour later, the living area of the cottage was clean and tidy, Fetige sat eating at the table while Miren fed the toddler, and Lothiriel had been able to waken the parents sufficiently to get some willow bark tea into them. The men had built up the fire in both rooms and with the added warmth of that and another blanket on the bed, the parents seemed to be sleeping more comfortably than when they had arrived.

The men had determined that the animals had not been cared for and dealt with that, and any other jobs found wanting. Using the barn, they were able to form a bit of shelter with some tents for the horses to get out of the wind and snow somewhat. The rest of the tents were set up nearby to make use of the barn as a windbreak and a little extra warmth. A large load of firewood had been stacked near the cottage for use in the house and several buckets of water were drawn and placed inside the front door.

The king, queen and Miren had made beds on the floor in the main room, near the fire, and they whiled away the time playing with the children and tending to the sick adults. Outside the storm had continued to blow most of the day, but by nightfall, the worst of it seemed past and the snow returned to a scattered flake here and there.

For the next several days, the royal party remained there watching over the little family. The men took care of the farm chores and a few repairs that needed doing around the place. A rider had been sent on to Edoras to advise of the situation and to bring more food.

Eomer also instructed that two servants come and remain with the family until they were completely well, and help with the chores. Once the supplies and help arrived from Edoras, and the parents were somewhat recovered, the royal party departed.

Fetige had wept at their departure, having grown quite fond of them. Her mother was still a bit in awe at the realization that she had been tended by the queen of Rohan, assisted by the king. Once everyone had left, she found she had more sacks of flour and meal, more dried meat and other necessities than she could have imagined, and was overwhelmed that the royals would be so generous to lowly peasants like herself.

On the remainder of the ride home, Lothiriel was silent for most of the way. At length, Eomer rode closer to her and took her hand, giving her a questioning look. As she gave his hand a squeeze, she attempted to voice her thoughts, "I...thank the Valar for leading us to that little family in such great need. It is easy to forget, when we are sitting at Meduseld, that not everyone is warm and dry, safe and fed. I am glad we were able to help ease someone's burden."

Eomer smiled his understanding and leaned to kiss her. Softly he whispered, "As king and queen of Rohan, we will make it a priority to find such and render aid. I would not have any in Rohan who suffers want."

THE END

12-25-05

**_End note:  It is best that you read the Elfwine Chronicles in the order they were written. The more of them that I wrote, the more likely I was to make reference to one of the previous ones and something that happened there. If you want to read them in order, go to the top of this page and click on my name (Deandra). That will take you to my profile page. Scroll down and you will find all the stories I have written. The Elfwine Chronicles are in order from bottom to top since ffn shows them in the order they were posted. A few were posted out of number order, but you can read them in posting order or number order since those few won't be affected in the story content._**


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